December 2009 Archive

Cablevision vs Scripps Fight Over Food Network/HGTV Could Last Weeks LongerUPDATE: Cablevision just gave me this hardball statement:
"We are sorry that Scripps' current financial difficulties are making it impossible for them to continue our relationship on terms that are reasonable for Cablevision and our customers. We wish Scripps well and have no expectation of carrying their programming again, given the dramatic changes in their approach to working with distributors… Read

UPDATE: Here’s the Walt Disney Co statement:
BURBANK, Calif., December 31, 2009—Advancing its strategy of delivering great branded content to people around the world, Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) announced today that Disney has completed its acquisition of renowned character franchise company, Marvel Entertainment Inc (NYSE:MVL).
"We're thrilled to welcome to the Disney family the talented team at Marvel,"… Read

SUNDAY AM WRITETHRU: It’s official: 20th Century Fox’s week-old Avatar fell behind Friday, but was back on top Saturday, and easily beat Warner Bros’ newcomer Sherlock Holmes for No. 1 this 3-day Christmas weekend in North American theaters. As usual, the Hollywood box office experts (who had predicted this to me last week but I doubted them) were right on the money. Avatar‘s take was $23.5M Friday and $28.5M Saturday for the $75M weekend with Sunday’s estimate. As for She…Read

Warner Bros domestic grosses will cross $2 billion today, breaking the movie industry record of $1.789B set by the studio last year. And there’s still 9 more days of holiday play time left to fatten the record.
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MovieTickets.com asked over 32,000 filmgoers which movie without an existing film franchise they'd like to see turned into a sequel. Here's a look at the Top 5:
1. The Hangover (37%)
2. District 9 (27%)
3. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (21%)
4. Watchmen (8%)
5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop (7%)
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It’s 20th Century Fox vs 20th Century Fox. So reports big online ticketseller Fandango as of 11 AM PT. James Cameron's Avatar continues to be a strong seller on Fandango (and 32% of Avatar filmgoers surveyed on the site say they'll see it more than once). But Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is actually outselling the sci-fi epic in ticket sales today when it opens. Avatar is going into its 2nd weekend Friday. Also today Paramount’s Up In The Air is opening wide… Read

UPDATES EXCLUSIVE: Ex-HBO Chief Chris Albrecht To Be Named New CEO Of Starz
This announcement will be going out Tuesday:
Englewood, Colo, Dec. 22 – Liberty Media Corporation announced today that Chris Albrecht, former Chairman and CEO of HBO, will join Starz, LLC as its President and CEO. He will oversee all of the Starz entities, including Starz Entertainment, Overture Films, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Film Roman and will assume his new role beginning January 1… Read

UPDATE: TOLDJA! It’s Official: Chris Albrecht To Head StarzMONDAY PM EXCLUSIVE: I’ve learned that Liberty Media chairman John Malone and CEO Greg Maffei are installing former HBO chairman/CEO Chris Albrecht as head of Starz. Sources tell me Albrecht’s title will be CEO (and maybe also president), and the announcement… Read

News Corp insiders tell me: “Our negotiations screeched to a standstill Friday night. We're at an impasse over a highly restrictive (and unusual) provision in their ‘must sign NDA [Non-Disclosure Agreement]’. So who knows what will happen next? But for now it's ‘Pens Down’.” This isn’t good news for the embattled film studio MGM which has been teetering on the brink of bankruptcy because of its crushing $4 billion debt. So it’s on the block and sent confidentiality… Read

BREAKING NEWS! (check for constantly updated and inserted info)MONDAY AM 4TH UPDATE: 20th Century Fox keeps refining its figures to show James Cameron’s Avatar actuals were better than expected — Friday: $26,752,099, Saturday: $25,529,036, Sunday: $24,744,346. Grosses dropped only -3% from Saturday to Sunday and finished the weekend with an opening number of $77.025481 million (not $77.3M or $76.8M or $73M as the studio previously reported). That placed second to 2D I Am…Read